Shoe fitting device



June 1943- E. J. BLISS 2,320,763

SHOE FITTING DEVICE v Filed Feb. 18, 1942 INV ENTOR Elmer Jared Bliss ATTORNEY Patented June 1, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,320,768 SHOE FITTING nizvroa Elmer Jared Bliss, Chilmark, Mass. Application February 18 1942, Serial No. 431,418

Claims.

This invention relatesto shoe fitting devices and'more specifically contemplates toe gauges for determining, by ascertaimnent of the exact disposition of the toes of a foot in a shoe with respect to the gauge, any discrepancy between the length of the shoe and the length required for proper fitting of the foot.

In my Patent No. 2,018,631, granted October 22, 1935, for Toe gauging devices for shoe fitting, I have described and claimed a simple expedient for insertion into the forepart of a shoe of any of a variety of sizes thereof, to indicate to a customer or salesclerk whether the shoe placed on the foot of the customer is of proper length. The purposes, objects and advantages of the invention of my said patent are incorporated herein by reference.

Generally an object of the present invention'is to provide a toe gauge for defining the forward limits of the area within a shoe intended to be occupied by a properly fitted foot.

It is ordinarily diflicult for a customer or an inexperienced clerk to determine either by outside appearance or by the feel of a new shoe on the foot, the exact foot-area provided by a shoe wherein the foot will be comfortable. Diiferent styles of shoes will differ considerably in toe contour and the area of the toe of a shoe to be left unoccupied is variously aifected thereby.

Customers whose feet are crowded into the ex- 0 treme forepart of a new shoe often attribute the resultin discomfort to the newness of the shoe. In order to avoid improper fitting, toe gauges of the prior art, e. g., that of my patent above mentioned have been provided as an aid in determining the position of the large toe of a foot in a shoe with respect to its preferred position.

It is important in the use of such prior de- Vices that the toe stop be properly placed whereby it will abut against and be retained in the extreme forepart of the toe of the shoe with the transverse member of the gauge arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the shoe.

The toe stop must of course be short enough to fit'easily into the shoe and in some shoes this requires that the stop be quite short. A factor not fully appreciated in the art prior to my invention is that the undersurface of the toes of some persons taper upwardly more sharply than turn upwardly so as to tend to ride upon or tilt or extend partially over, the top of a short toe stop or gauge, thus obviating the effectiveness and the advantage of use of such devices,

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a gauge embodying a vert1cally-adjustable toe stop for use in shoes of various toe contours, to define the forward limit of footarea provided by the shoe for a comfortable fit, in conjunction with means for properly positioning the stop in the shoe.

Another object is the provision of a thin fiat flexible strip of a length substantially equal to the inside longitudinal dimension of the shoe with which the device is adapted for use, so as to be retained in a medial position therein, while in use, by the heel and toe of the shoe for support of the gauge proper.

Another object is to provide a composite toe stop comprising a stationary element carried by the base strip of the gauge, having a vertically movable extension whereby the height of the toe stop may be varied to conform to specific redo others, and in some cases the toes themselves quirements of the shoe in which it is employed and of the foot of the person to be fitted.

Other objects and salient features of myinvention, suchfor example as economy of manufacture, ease of adjustment, positive indication of the position of the toes of a foot within a shoe, negligible restriction by the gauge of the footarea provided by the shoe, and simplicity of utility by either the customer or an inexperienced salesclerk, will be apparent to those of skill in' the art to which my invention appertains fromj Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my invention, 1

partially broken away, as inFig. 2, but Showing the opposite side of the toe stop.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numerals of which indicate similar parts throughout the several views, 5 designates a thin flat elongated strip of flexible metal having one end 6 rounded to avoid penetration of the lining of the shoe when the device is inserted 'intothe shoe in accordance with its use. The opposite and forward end of the metal strip is turned over,

as at 7 upon a bottom flange 8 of a toe stop 9, L-shap'ed in cross section. Flange 8 is IlV- eted, as at ID, to strip 5 to retain the toe stop' in a stationary position with the upright portion II of stop 9 disposed at right angle to the strip from which it rises. It will be observed that the portion ll of the stop is held rearwardly of the foremost end of strip which in operation is fitted into the forward end of the shoe where it is centered by the arc of the toe. The upright portion H is thus held in spaced relation with respect to the extreme end of the toe so as to define the foreward limit of foot area provided by a particular shoe for which it is adapted. As the clearance desired in different shoes may vary, this spacing of the toe stop 9 may be different in particular embodiments of my invention to conform to the toe contour of the shoes in which said devices are to be employed.

A centrally located vertical slot I2 is formed in the upright portion ll of stop 9 to receive a screw l3 which is threaded into a central opening of a stop extension [4. The upper edge l5. of the upright portion ll of the stop and extension l4 thereof are curved to. more nearly conform to the contour of the inner surface of the toeof theshoe. The height of the upright portion H of the; toe. stop is only slightly less than the vertical. dimension of the area in the toe of shoes having the fiattest. toe contour and of the. length with which specific sizes, of my invention are adapted for use. With screw t3 loosened, extension M may be moved downwardly against the base strip 5 in'which position its upper edge l5 substantially coincides with the upper edge l5 of the upright portion II of the stop. Slot [2 is of a length sulficient to permit movement of extension M upwardly whereby the combined height of the upright portion ll of thestop and its extension M will nearly approximate the interior-vertical dimension of the toe area of shoes having the highest toe of the size with which aparticular toe gaugeis to be utilized.

It will be understood that a fitting device of my invention is provided for each different length of shoe in order that the gauge used with a y particular shoe may fit, snugly in the center of the arcs of. the heel and the toe thereof, so as to. facilitate proper disposition of the device in the, shoe and insure maintenance ofv such position while the customers foot is placed therein.

The. operation and use of my invention is briefly described as follows: After the foot of a person to be fitted has been measured and shoes of the. estimated size required have been selected for a trial fitting, a pair of devices embodying my invention and identified as intended for use with the size shoe selected, preferably by size number stamped on the base strip, is adjusted in accordance with the height of the toes ofthe selected shoes and the angular disposition of the large toes. on the feet of the person to be fitted.

To this end screw I3 of each device is loosened to permit relative vertical movement between the stop 9 and its extension l4. Extension I4 is then raised as high as it may be without preventing the insertion of the stop into the ex treme forward part of the toe of the shoe. With stop 9 located in the toe, the rearward end of the base strip '5 fits snugly in the heel of the shoe as indicated in Fig. 1. It will be observed that the arcs of the heel and of the toe will prevent lateral displacement of the ends of the device so as. to insure maintenance of a substantially right angular relationship between. the plane of the portion H of the stop and the longitudinal axis of the foot and shoe.

Pre-adjustment of the stop extension as above described is especially important when the large or adjacent toes of the person being fitted turns upwardly in order to preclude any tendency of the toe to ride upon or extend partially over the sto which would obviate the utility of the gauge.

The shoe may then be placed on the foot of the person for a trial fitting. Due to the flexibility of the material of which it is composed, the strip will conform to the contour of the innerlining of the sole in response to the weight of the foot. As stop 9 defines the forward limit of the foot area of the shoe when worn by a person properly fitted, the relationship of the toe of the person wearing the shoe with respect to the toe stop will indicate immediately the congruity of thefoot and shoe. Should the toe of the person abut too firmly against toe stop 9 a larger size shoe may be tried and its length may be gauged by the use of a similar device of corresponding length. If the customers toe does not contact the stop inthe trial shoe a smaller shoe will be indicated as proper without the time consuming tests heretofore commonly employed and which depend so much upon the experience and patience of. the sales clerk.

It will be observed that I have provided an improved gauge adapted for quick insertion and removal, from shoes and by which the length of selected shoes in fitting feet of any normal foot and toe contour may not only be tested with facility but the proper length may be definitely indicated.

WhileI have described but one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, that numerous changes in size, design, proportion and number of the various parts may be made, that the toe stop extension l4 may, if desired, in particular embodiments, be adapted for lateral adjustment by the provisionof a slot intersecting and forming a right. angle with the slot l2; that strip 5 may be made extensible if desired and embody clamping means of conventional construction to fix its length in accordance with specific requirements, and that a screw clamp may be substituted for the rivets I0 to operate in a slot in the strip whereby the stop itself may be longitudinally adjusted along the strip-all without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, a flexible strip adapted for insertion into a shoe, and an upright member connected to said strip adjacent oneof the ends of the latter, a second member, and means secured to one of said members to frictionally engage the other of said members at different vertically aligned points on the latter whereby the upper edge of said second member may be variably spaced from said strip.

2. In a shoe fitting device, a strip of flexible material adapted for insertion into a shoe, an upright member secured to the strip at a point adjacent one of the ends of the latter, an extension connected to said upright member movable with respect to the latter for adjustment of the height of the extension to correspond with the normal upward projection of a toe of the foot to be fitted, so as to limit the projection of the strip into the shoe to the foremost area thereof having. the vertical dimension required for the comfortable accommodation of the foot to be fitted, andmeans for securing said extension and saidmember against relative movement.

thereof movable with respect to said strip for adjustment of the height of the stop to correspond to the normal upward projection of a toe of a foot to be fitted, said strip being adapted to rest longitudinally on the bottom of the shoe with the toe stop disposed in the foremost part of the shoe having a vertical dimension sufficient to comfortably accommodate said toe of the foot to be fitted.

4. In a shoe fitting device, a strip of flexible material adapted to lie on the bottom of a shoe, a toe gauge connected to the strip adjacent the forward end of the latter to limit, when disposed in the forepart of a shoe, the extension of a foot to be fitted into the shoe, said toe gauge comprising means associated with said strip for movement at right angles thereto for adjustment of the height thereof to correspond with the normal upward projection of a toe of the foot to be fitted so as to limit the projection of the strip into the shoe with the toe gauge disposed in the foremost part of the shoe at which said toe of the foot to be fitted may be comfortably accommodated.

5. In a shoe fitting device, a strip of flexible material adapted to lie upon the bottom of a shoe, a toe gauge connected to the forepart of the strip movable at right angles to the latter for adjustment of the height of the gauge corresponding to the normal upward projection of the 7 large toe of a foot to be fitted, whereby said toe gauge is effective to limit the projection of the strip into the shoe with the toe gauge disposed in the foremost part of the shoe having a vertical dimension correspondingto that required for the comfortable accommodation of said toe of the foot to be fitted.

ELMER JARED BLISS. 

